Appointments

• Dr. Robert Petzel has been nominated to become the undersecretary for health in the Department of Veterans Affairs. Petzel was appointed acting principal deputy undersecretary for Health of the Veterans Health Administration in May. Previously, Petzel was network director of the Department of Veterans Affairs Midwest Healthcare Network based in Minneapolis.

• Obama has nominated Arthur Elkins for inspector general of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Elkins is an associate general counsel within the EPA’s Office of General Counsel (OGC). Prior to his federal public service, he served at the state level as an assistant prosecuting attorney and as an assistant public defender for the Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Prosecutor’s Office and the Cuyahoga County Public Defender’s Office, respectively.

• Nicole Lamb-Hale has been nominated for assistant secretary of Commerce for manufacturing and services. Lamb-Hale is currently the deputy general counsel of the Commerce Department. Prior to joining the Obama administration, she was the managing partner of the Detroit office of the law firm of Foley & Lardner LLP, where she specialized in business restructuring in the manufacturing sector.

• President Obama nominated Scott DeLisi to become ambassador to Nepal. As a 28-year career member of the Senior Foreign Service, DeLisi has served as ambassador to Eritrea and as deputy chief of mission of the American embassy in Gaborone, Botswana. He is currently the director of career development and assignments in the State Department’s Bureau of Human Resources.

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